


Lights, Camera, Action!

by RookieReporterZ



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Miraculous Ladybug Show Stopper!, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Cinnamon Roll Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Enjoy My Weirdness!, F/M, I Blame My Lack Of Sanity, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Will Add More Tags and Characters as I Go..., I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Summaries, Miraculous Ladybug Spoilers, Miraculous Oblivious, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Other, TV Show AU!, The Author Regrets Everything, Why Did I Write This?, duh!, i update when I can
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-25 14:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RookieReporterZ/pseuds/RookieReporterZ
Summary: ...Miraculous TV Show AU…Marinette never wanted fame for acting an alleged ‘superhero’. Hell, she didn’t even want to get out of bed! So how was she convinced of the exact opposite? And how did Adrien Agreste follow in a catsuit?Some would say the universe loved her. She preferred to state the same response to all issues that were inconvenient/disastrous.It was Alya’s Fault.





	1. The Beginning of Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette stresses out unnecessarily until she enters the Auditions. With the help of Alya's love (blackmail) she finally makes her way to meet her doom... and perhaps a certain model...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am here with more Miraculous Tales of our fave heroes, Oblivibug and Chat le Dork! This story inspiration stems from posters that were situated around Paris (travel!!) and the very own wackiness of my own brain. Multi-chapter fic!
> 
> None of the characters belongs to me apart from all that you don't recognise. Now enjoy the story of Miraculous Obliviousness! - Z

This was entirely Alya’s fault. And Marinette was going to kill her.

Most might say that this was overreacting, but when the peace of a peaceful nation was threatened by an angry monster, people tended to fight.

In this case, she was people.

She loved her best friend with all her heart but somehow, Alya managed to push her into the most uncomfortable situations. And for Marinette, a walking disaster as she dubbed herself, it was like stepping into a hurricane of catastrophes. A thousand possibilities and all of them ended with either tragedy, pain or humiliation. With her luck, it was often all.

Yes, sure she had taken up acting classes at school as of late. And sure, she wanted to put them into use. But when the Famous Writer, Grace Klinten, had suggested an idea for a TV show here in Paris and encouraged school aged actors to join, she dismissed it. Unlike all of her classmates, she had absolutely no intention of joining the long list of young people that had come all the way around France to audition. When Alya tried to suggest, or threaten, her into actually auditioning for the show, she had flat out refused.

Multiple Times.

Forcefully.

It turned out her best friend was sent from hell and didn't give a damn about what she had to say.

That would have been nice to know before she was appointed her most loyal Best Friend, or using the technical term, ‘BFF’.

Marinette knew about most of her classes questionable favouritism when it came to the participation of the acting class. She also knew that there was no motivation on her part to ‘participate’ in such things.

The acting class was just a way of her achieving better confidence. Not so she would become World Famous TV legend, although there was no denying that the prospect would be pretty cool even with her somewhat crippling anxiety that had become infamous in the class of 10CB.

Unfortunately for her, Alya did not know.

So the torrent of reasons continued and Marinette had no idea how to stop them from drowning her.

In an attempt not to go down without a fight, she had persisted to name things that could happen during or after the audition that would ruin her life in the years to come.

For some reason, Alya ignored and dismissed all of her ‘far-fetched’ (her words, but what did she know if she was forcing the Marinette Dupain-Cheng into acting) but in Marinette’s opinion, highly potential scenarios without batting an eyelid.

Marinette had tried to explain her worries to Alya, but she simply pointed out, “What would get you better confidence than knowing that you had got the role?”. After her large silence while coming up with a coherent and logical answer to the seemingly good reason, Alya just looked on, amused and triumphant.

That seemed to be all it took to steer her on the warpath that she had been set on, sending in an application on Marinette’s behalf and increasing the seemingly never-ending list of annoyingly thorough reasons why she should participate which she presented at every possible moment.

Finally, after blatantly ignoring all of Marinette’s declarations of refusal towards the subject and injecting points of argumentative rebuttal, mental torture, blackmail and the occasional mildly violent threat where she saw fit, Marinette gave in to her persuasion.

Which was how she found herself walking, or being forcefully dragged by Alya who held her by the elbow, to the auditions.

She hated her life.

“I still think this is a terrible idea, Alya. What if I make a fool of myself?” rambled Marinette rapidly. “I heard that Lila Rossi is going to be auditioning, you know what her agent is like. If she is auditioning, it means that the role is really, really prestigious. And Chloe will also be there with a front seat to all of my misery. And since they are running behind schedule, they don’t even have callbacks! Just one chance to prove to the director that I can act. And that’s my main problem, I can’t act!”

“Calm down Mari!” Alya cut her off before she could say any more. “I’ve seen you, you completely transform when you are in a different role, why do you think I pushed so hard to get you to come?”

“Because you have unrealistic expectations and a bad taste when it comes to acting?”

“First of all, ouch. That's harsh. You have insulted my taste! Seriously, you can do it, girl! I have glanced upon your unforeseen and unlikely talent. Plus, this will be a great way to overcome your confidence issues and learn to talk normally to people.”

“I talk normally!” Marinette huffed, defiant and offended by the fact that her so-called best friend didn’t take her seriously.

“Oh, so people usually flail around nervously and turn from ghost white to tomato red in four seconds when talking to a person they find mildly attractive? Is ‘You’re warm I mean- your sandy-w-WAIT!’ a new English Term?” she said, recounting the events of last week with Juleka’s brother, Luka.

“Alright, if you are going to continue making excellent points by teasing me, then I don’t know if I want to talk to you anymore!”

“I am just saying that this opportunity will help you branch out a bit,” Alya continued, gesturing wildly with her hands to emphasise her point, “maybe focus on something other than all the fashionista stuff that you do. If I’m lucky, you’ll finally find yourself another friend or a boyfriend if you are able to talk normally, who can back me up whenever you are being unreasonable about your own well-being.”

“Again, I didn’t make you my best friend to make logical points, I be-friended you to blindly support every stupid thing I say,” Marinette mumbled.

“And as your best friend, I also know what is best for you. Face it M, you’re going in there and showing those judges how good you are and I know you damn well have the talent to get the part.”

Abruptly, Alya stopped walking and stared in awe at the building even though they had seen many times before, jolting Marinette back and making her trip over her own feet before righting herself again. Standing up and squaring her shoulders, she found herself facing what seemed from the perspective of her nervously heightened mind to be a skyscraper-like building, but in reality, was only the Bourgeois Hotel.

It hadn’t taken a lot of convincing to have auditions held at the Hotel once the Mayor and owner became aware, along with everyone else in the city, about his daughter Chloe’s incessant and dire need to participate in and receive the main role after the auditions.

To Marinette, the weight of the audition hit her like a ton of bricks, which was highly ironic seeing as they had revamped the entire front of the building, replacing all the brick exterior with a concrete finish. As she started trembling and tears blotted out her vision, she realised that it may have not been the best idea to be considering the architecture of the building.

“Alya, I can’t do this!” she squeaked timidly, voice shaking.

“Yes, you can! You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I’ve seen you do it with my own two eyes, girl! The only question is, do you believe in yourself enough to do it again?”

Marinette opened her mouth to reply but Alya cut her off again, leaving her with a close resemblance to a fish.

“That was rhetorical so don’t think about answering it, just keep walking.”

When they arrived at the front desk of the Bourgeois Hotel, a lively elderly woman with hair the consistency of cotton candy greeted them and directed them to the tenth floor where the auditions were being held. Despite having been told that she didn’t need to accompany the girls to the waiting room, she insisted. Which was how Marinette ended up squashed between a blond-headed boy with stunning eyes the colour of dewy grass and the short, old receptionist lady that had introduced herself as Helga with misty blue eyes.

“My granddaughter is auditioning today as well you know! She wanted to be Ladybug but I think that she will get the role of one of the supporting casts. She is very talented you know, said her first word at seven months old! I really do hope...” continued Helga as she talked about her granddaughter. The noise that she was making blurred into a buzz of phrases and words to Marinette’s ears.

To be fair, she had a good enough reason not to concentrate directly on what the lady was saying. She hadn’t had a full 8 hours of sleep in at least a month and between all the studying, fashion design, creation of clothing and the script, she was dead on her feet. It turned out that her constant nutrients staple, caffeine and sugar wasn’t great for your well-being. Although it did marvels for her concentration, she always ended up even worse than before. Alya swore that her blood had been replaced with caffeine rather than actual blood.

For one unexplainable reason, the only thing that she could concentrate on was the boy that was standing beside her. No, it wasn’t the way that he was smiling at her as she stepped into the elevator, even though at least half of the girls in her class would have fainted if a guy that attractive had a smile at them like that. Nor was it the fact that he smelled like cinnamon and peppermint, although it was strangely intoxicating as if it was trying to coax her into getting closer.

It was the fact that he looked so familiar, something that she would have seen often, perhaps in other people that made him look like them. That wasn’t it though, was it? It was something else that made him stand out as someone she knew. Maybe he just went to her school? That was probably it. He looked slightly older and definitely more attractive than anyone in her year.

It still didn’t seem quite right but as soon as the elevator chimed, Marinette swapped her curiosity out for additional nerves and she dismissed the boy without a second glance. Well maybe one, but he was hot! She was a straight, teenage, fourteen-year-old girl for goodness sake! She was entitled to stare and admire the art that was of the other sex.

“Here we are ladies! If you see my granddaughter audition, tell her that I send her my love! Her name is Bethany. I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Good luck!”

The sweet lady bounded back into the elevator with energy that she shouldn’t be allowed to possess. Hell, even Marinette certainly wasn't awake enough to do that! Waving enthusiastically back at them, the elevator doors swallowed her up and transported her back down to the lobby.

“C'mon! Let’s sit down while you wait for someone to come and get you,” ordered Alya as she plopped herself down on the nearest creamy leather recliner and started to flick through a worn magazine with nonchalance.

Of course she was calm, she wasn’t participating in the auditions. She was only the bane of her existence, making her best friend audition instead. The only person that would do something like that was the devil! And maybe Hawkmoth, but who’s naming names?

Unbeknownst to Alya, Marinette was panicking more than she let on. She pulled the audition script to look over for what seemed to be the hundredth time, but the words wouldn’t cooperate, bunching up into smudges and running away from her as soon as she tried to focus. Rubbing her eyes and blinking wouldn’t help, making the page seem even farther away from her bleary, tired eyes.

It wasn’t like she needed the script anyway, Alya’s relentless memorisation technique of reciting the script out loud until she wanted to murder her and then jump off the Eiffel Tower seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, the side effect was a blinding headache that clapped its way into her brain with each word, which wasn’t particularly useful for when she was trying to concentrate or do- well… anything at all.

She felt she could recite the entire plotline by now. Ladybug and Chat Noir, the two most generic superhero names that anyone could come up with. She supposed it was alright since it was aimed at younger kids but with the amounts of flirting, general romance and obliviousness that she had seen so far in the script, teenagers would surely eat it up.

As far as she could see the plot was a simple one. Two superheroes, one with the powers of creation and the other with the powers of destruction were portrayed as the heroes of Paris. Having just been given the suits from their Master, Fu, the heroes left the temple to protect the city from ordinary threats such as the stuff that cops deal with.

When the mysterious villain ‘Le Papillon’ appears to steal the ancient tokens known as Miraculous, he transforms a Parisian who is feeling a negative emotion into a supervillain with a magical negative infused butterfly they have to stop it and use the Magic that Fu taught them. Once caught, they destroyed the object that the Akuma had infused into and Ladybug would release the evil energy and the day was saved. Again said, the plot was simple, the variations on what would happen would be a little more complex.

The romance between the characters was evident in the entire script, Chat trying so hard to win Ladybugs affection. Overall, the Chat Noir seemed cute if not a bit dorky. Marinette couldn't wait to see who would achieve that role. 

Ladybug, it seemed, was trying to play off her feelings for Chat, maintaining a strictly work relationship between them. Alya was in love with the character immediately, proclaiming how much of a good role model she was. 

Unfortunately, the fact that she was confident and selfless also made her hard to play.

Which circled back to the previous problem, she couldn’t act! That wasn’t entirely true though, once she got into a role, she was really good at acting as the characters so she would rephrase the dilemma. 

She couldn’t act in front of people! That was more of the issue.

People with their judging looks and watchful eyes.

People with criticising minds and harmful feedback.

People with their head held higher and better than anyone else’s and people like Chloe, mean and disapproving, having a front seat to her embarrassing rejection.

There was no denying it, Marinette had a horrendous case of stage fright.

She would clearly need to get over it quickly as a young lady with a white pants suit and a dark ebony-haired bun came into the room to announce the next person to go into auditions.

“Dupain-Cheng, Marinette? The judges are almost ready for you, follow me please.”

Marinette’s insides twisted and kneaded together like putty. Why had she let Alya push her into this? Surely there are worse things than death. This must be one of them. She refrained from telling Alya this discovery of her brain. Public humiliation was her fourth favourite form of torture and she certainly didn’t want to know what her first was.

When Alya saw her hesitate, she pulled her up and marched her across the room to where the lady was standing. “You listen to me, Mari. I know you don’t think you can but I know you can do it! And don’t you dare waste this opportunity, I worked my arse off coming up with new reasons why you should do this. I believe in you.”

“Thanks, Alya,” muttered Marinette, after a second thought. Maybe she should try her best, give everything to the performance. It would be interesting to see who got in.

“Are you auditioning to miss?” the lady asked from in front, directing her question at Alya.

“I hadn’t signed up for it, I just came to support a friend.”

“You might want to consider it, we’re running low on people who want to become the Villains of the show, you are welcome to try out for that part. You seem to have a great screen presence and only what could be described as a villainous demeanour when pushing your friend,” she stated as Marinette giggled at her words.

“Thank you?” Alya responded with uncertainty, not knowing if she should be surprised or insulted. “It is a possibility, I guess it might be fun!”

“Perfect, if you would come with me after we have dropped off your friend here and we will get you sorted out.”

“Am I able to come back after Marinette’s performance? I want to see how she did.”

“That can be arranged if you wish.”

Walking through a set of double doors seemed like a bad sign that they were getting close to the audition point. Clearly, Alya thought so too as she squeezed Marinette’s arm tighter in an encouraging embrace before letting go, knowing she wasn’t going to run off now that they had gotten here. And for once, Alya was right. Marinette’s nerves had partially dissipated as soon as she walked through the doors.

Now she was ready to take on anything, well maybe not a supervillain just yet but something close to, maybe a troll?

She was going to give the audition everything she had.

The classy lady opened one last double door and they had arrived at the audition room. To say that the room would have been underwhelming was an outright lie. Everything about the room seemed to scream sophistication and wealth, from the luxurious bed in the corner of the room to the four plasma screen TVs on the back wall. There was no denying it, from the designer clothes and sea of obnoxious sunshine yellow all over the walls. This was Chloe’s room.

“Dupain-Cheng, Marinette is here to audition for the role of Ladybug.”

“Good luck, girl! I know you can do it. Make me proud!” Alya whispered to her as she pulled her in for one last hug.

A tall, willowy, balding man stood up to greet them. Even if he had swapped his usual suit jacket out for just a chiffon shirt, Marinette still recognised him as the Mayor. 

“Alright, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, who was your partner?- ahh! Adrien come here!”

The dreamy boy from the Elevator, Adrien as he was named, stood up from his spot in the corner and strode briskly to the centre of the room to meet them. His hair bounced out of place, shining golden in the streaming sunlight from the window.

“Adrien will be your acting Chat Noir, this is his first audition as well. We will see how you interact together and then assess you separately,” he informed them cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the state of impending doom that Marinette had slipped into.

Oh no, this was bad! Very, very bad! Marinette had difficulty talking to normal people, let alone strangers. 

The way that he looked paired with the flirting capabilities if Chat Noir? 

She was going to spontaneously combust.

She was going to lose it during the audition. She was sure that Alya would tell her parents she loved her and that she tried her best to ignore the wonderful boy. Alya would probably have to speak at her eulogy, she would try to apologise for encouraging her too much, she would break down and-

“Marinette?” questioned André, “You still with us?”

“Sorry! I’m a little nervous,” she stuttered, shaking the thoughts of Adrien from her mind and pushing them back into a dark place that she would never look at again.

“Don’t worry, I am not great at acting as well, we can both suffer together,” joked Adrien, shooting her a grin and brushing his golden hair out of his face in one fluid motion.

And he was nice as well! He had a personality! She was never getting out of this one alive.

“Ok, get into position! You are able to use scripts if you would like,” stated André formally.

Alright, she could do this, deep breaths, there was a reason she was here apart from her obnoxiously enthusiastic friend. She could be Ladybug.

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves before thinking back.

Way back to her Mothers singing and dads dancing, her family in the place that she needed them most. Music and the sense of joy flooded over her as she transformed back into a careless child.

She welcomed the childhood lullaby as it washed over her mind, filling it with the renewed determination and supported that she needed.

I’m confident,

I’m reckless,

She was here for a reason.

I’m magnificent,

I’m breathless.

She had the power-

I need to change what I see,

-to change her perception of the world. She had the power to act.

I am amazing, I am me.

Except that now she wasn’t,

Now, she had transformed.

Fingering an invisible spotted mask on her face, she was certain.

She looked up and face the stage, ready for anything.

Now, she was Ladybug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter! What do you think?! I am hoping it will get better? The next chapter is from Adriens PoV so this should be fun. Please Review! I love to hear your thoughts. The second chapter is finished and yes I am a horrible person for not giving it to sooner. Perks of being a writer! Don’t kill me… Subscribe or bookmark for more!! ( And yes, there will be more!)


	2. The Mayhem of Auditioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien 'sunshine-child' Agreste makes an appearance with whale musings and anime. And of course, no story would be complete without adoration and love at first sight!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! I have a half-complete plot down. Forward-thinking! This may be a long fic so I promise to try and finish all of it. If I abandon it pLEaSE, please, PLEASE keep badgering me! (In an encouraging manner of course! ;p) Another thing you could do is give kudos or favourite ‘cause I love to know that you like this weirdness that is mine!
> 
> Cupcakes and sprinkles to whoever read all of that! Now that’s done, Enjoy!

Adrien Agreste had come to the auditions to try out for the part of Chat Noir at the request of his overbearing father.

Adrien Agreste had come to the auditions to have a break from his tedious life as a model.

Adrien Agreste had come to the auditions to try out his newly enhanced acting skills.

Adrien Agreste had not come to the auditions for the new Ladybug and Chat Noir TV show to stare at the girl who was acting with him.

He didn't know why he was staring. At the girl he was acting with no less. He just knew he couldn't stop. It was a mystery to him as to why she was at the audition. It was clear that she was uncomfortable, terrified even.

He could see it in the way she twisted her fingers around the golden buttons on her blazer.

See the way that her eyes darted around the room twitchingly.

See the way that her small mouth hung open, petrified with fear.

As Adrien looked on, he tried to decide what would best describe the state that she was in at the moment. Finally, as Marinette reasoned with herself, he settled with something that he could only call an internal nervous breakdown.

Despite her petrified state, he noticed, she was quite fashionable, dressed in a flowery embroiled top and a pink trim, black blazer which she looked over every so often.

Her dainty fingers rapted against the script that she had rolled up in her hand, foot-tapping against the marble floors and echoing around the room.

The more that he looked at her, the more he noticed how uncomfortable she was getting. More nervous by the second. Ticking by on the heavily gold-encrusted clock in Chloe's room.

Was it him, was he the reason that she was uncomfortable?

She seemed to glance at him more than anything else in the room but when they made eye contact, her cheeks seemed to bloom a mysterious scarlet and blink her bluebell eyes quickly in a doe-like manner before turning away. She was shivering as well.

Was she cold?

"Marinette?" questioned André, "You still with us?"

"Sorry! I'm a little nervous," she stuttered, collecting her nerves.

In an attempt to make her more comfortable, he cracked a joke, "Don't worry, I am not great at acting as well, we can both suffer together."

Somehow, this seemed to make her even more uncomfortable, making her face glow as she turned even redder.

Even with a head that resembled a red Christmas bauble, she still managed to look cute. Dark raven bangs drooping over her face accentuating, her porcelain skin and blush that had come up every time he had looked at her. It was getting harder and harder not to stare.

"Ok, get into position! You are able to use scripts if you would like," stated André formally, drawing Adrien's gaze away from Marinette. Probably a good thing too, he didn't want to seem like a creep. Being caught out for staring was just another thing on top of the pressure from his father that he didn't need today.

Blocking out everything in the room, he just focused. The tranquil breathing, the ever rapid pounding of his heart. The memories with his mother, the joking with his father. Everything from the past, everything he would never get back. He allowed himself to calm.

Nothing.

He sighed and opened his eyes.

With the grace and delicacy of a butterfly wing, her eyes fluttered open.

Adrien saw a sudden change in her demeanour instantly. Her once nervous and innocent blue-bell eyes were now swirling pools of cerulean determination. Her eyes were narrowed into slits and her tongue was stuck out in concentrated thinking.

Then she looked up, shoulders drawn back, confident and fierce.

She was beautiful.

So much for not being good at acting, she had transformed before his eyes.

Noticing Adrien's expression, she turned to face him, a permanent smirk pasted onto her lips.

"You're not afraid, are you minou?" she simpered with a teasing lilt.

It was then that Adrien realised he was screwed. Totally and utterly falling hard, in love with a girl that he didn't even know.

"And action!"

It wasn't a difficult scene, generic and scripted for the purpose of the auditions, but somehow, despite having memorised the script the night before, all of his previous recollection had gone out the window.

”Finally! I thought you were meant to come on patrol an hour ago! Something’s happened, a new Akuma is terrorising the park. Can you help me lure it over here?”

Awestruck by her, he found himself staring at her and dumbly and repeating the start of her question.

“Can you…?”

He was sure that his gaping mouth didn’t exactly help him look particularly attractive.

“Can I..?” 

“What did you want Chatton?” She smiled.

His throat was dry and raspy as he tried to channel a flirtatious demeanour that he had only seen in anime.

"Nothing, M'lady. Is it so wrong for this lowly black cat to admire your beauty?" he purred.

He was going off script now but the board of judges didn't mind. A man on the end of the panel at the plaque of Director seemed to be leaning forward in his seat, cropped black beard tickling the edge of the wooden table.

He looked over to Marinette, trying to gauge her reaction to the change of plans. What he had expected was a bemused expression or startled or even panicked at the use of improv. What he didn't expect was a playful flick placed on the edge of his nose and a careful finger pushing his head back.

"Careful what you say kitty, you never know when someone could pounce."

He didn't think one sentence would ever render him speechless. Turned out he was wrong.

"What's wrong Chat Noir, cat got your tongue?" she grinned, completely oblivious to the effect that she was having on him. Or she was hellbent on teasing him. Either way, he wasn't sure if he was going to make it to the end of the audition.

Of course, he couldn't answer that. His mouth wouldn't cooperate. Then again, was it really his fault if a beautiful, smart and funny girl was teasing him?

Fine, the universe was out to get him. What would it be next? A grumpy, sarcastic cat that liked cheese?

He was almost certainly as red as a life-saving buoy by now. Maybe he might have his next photo shoot at the beach and get swallowed up by a whale. Jonah survived so why couldn't he? He would name the whale Embarrassment and they would sail and swim to Timbuktu together. He might even set up a colony of monkeys and he would build a pool for Embarrassment to stay and sleep in...

A tinkling voice shook him out of his bizarre whale musings.

"If you keep your mouth open for any longer, your jaw is going to hit the floor."

That settles it. Where would one purchase a whale?

Scrambling for something to say, he pulled out one of his favourite puns.

"And that would be pawsitively clawful, would it not?"

"Of course, " she responded, rolling her eyes.

Typical Ladybug move, or what he could see as a ladybug move. Having only gotten the script last night and having his brain and common sense taken by this mysterious girl, he couldn't comprehend anything at the moment.

"Alright, Chat. Let's focus, where do you think the Akuma is?" she wondered.

Trying to make up a villain with a few seconds notice proved to be more difficult than he had expected. Nevertheless, his overactive imagination and the obsessive indulgence in cartoons that had come around in his life provided some input.

Who knew his unhealthy sleeping habits and watching television till 4 am would prove to be useful?

"Well, it is a Water Akuma..a lifeguard I suspect. I would think it would be in the whistle."

"You mean this one?" she asked, dipping a hand into her pocket and flourishing a whistle in front of his eyes.

Now it was his turn to wonder, how had she thought of this so fast? More importantly, what was she doing with a whistle in her pocket? Did she have one of those magic pockets like Mary Poppins?

Time to reconsider the lack of common sense at that moment. Clearly, it was more detrimental than he thought, or didn't think, as the problem would be…

He stopped before any more confusing thoughts decided to smash into his brain.

"Where did you get that?"

"I stole it from the Akuma before you showed up, I had the same idea as you but I wanted to make sure that it was right. That and I couldn't destroy it without your help." she sighed.

"Aww! You wanted to see me! How sweet."

"I would never miss an opportunity to see the Chat Noir!" she said in mock admiration, a smile hidden behind the facade.

"Why thank you! I am a purrleasure to be around after all!" he responded pleasantly.

Adrien threw up his hand in a very cartoon fashion, like a magical girl he thought. Feeling giddy and free, he yelled at the top of his lungs as his fingers closed into a fist.

"CATACLYSM!"

Even his power was a pun. He had laughed for 10 minutes straight when he saw it on the script.

He could practically feel the power coursing around his hands. The power of destruction the story foretold. Bubbles of black light danced around his fist in his imagination, each holding the capacity to obliterate atoms with ease.

She threw the whistle at him, Adrien catching it deftly in the other hand.

It wasn't the first time that someone had thrown a whistle out for him. However, this was the first time that it was a physical object and almost hit him in the eye.

"Oh, a present! You shouldn't have!" he chided.

Gently touching the offending object with a careful finger, it dissolved into cinders. At least, that was how he saw it.

"Oops!"

A loud clang on the floor sounded as he dropped the whistle.

"Good Kitty!" she crooned, scratching into his hair.

Leaning into her touch, he nudged the back of her hand. He could honestly die happy right then.

Next to the person he had spoken less than one hundred words to.

He had a big problem.

This obsession wasn't good.

The imaginary Akuma fluttered out of the object and was instantly caught in her hand, releasing it into the air.

"Bye, bye petit papillon." Her voice was music to his ears.

He didn't see his obsession going away anytime soon.

Adrien looked to his Ladybug to see what she would do next.

She extended her fist to accept a fist bump. Eyes shine bright when he connected his hand with hers.

"Bien Joue!" he chimed in.

Smiling widely, she responded to his proclamation.

"Bien joue. Well played, Chat Noir."

They stood there for a few moments, just staring at each other with incredulity before Adrien crouched down into a vaulting position with an imaginary baton.

"I must bid you adieu m'lady, " he leant down to take her hand and kiss her knuckles. "Until next time!"

"AND CUT!" shouted the bearded man.

His voice shot through the room, frightening her and making her jump into Adrien who was just getting up from the floor. A clumsy array of limbs tangled together as they rolled over, making Marinette increasingly more flustered and red.

"All good? You were pretty into the scene there," Adrien said as he helped her up from the floor.

Finally! A sentence in which he didn't make a fool of himself.

"Yeah… I-I'm fine now, honestly!" she stuttered, "It just frightened me that's all!"

"I don't think you introduced yourself properly."

She let out a small giggle."Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Adrien Agreste," he stated, holding out his hand in what he hoped was a friendly gesture. He never had the best social skills and it seemed this girl was throwing everything about him into question.

She made an 'o' with her mouth, trying to suppress a strangled squealed. Did she not realise who he was?

Marinette took a step back, before promptly tripping over an invisible object and flailing backwards. Adrien lunged out to steady her, wrapping a quick arm around her waist and her shoulders.

She smelt really nice. Like baked bread and frosting. He soon realised that he had probably spent more than the appropriate amount of time steadying her and gently let go, making sure she was actually on her feet and not about to fall over.

"S-sorry! I'm really… really, really clumsy!" she squeaked.

He seriously didn't think this girl could be cuter.

"Ahh, …it's um… All good!" he said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"I knew you were Adrien," she continued as her voice shifted back down to her normal octave of melodious speech, "I just didn't realise that you were THE Adrien Agreste!"

He tried to speak but he got cut off again and had to duck under her wayward limbs which were gesturing wildly to random places in the air.

"I'm a huge fan of your Father's work, I aspire to become a fashion designer and create my own line, I already design and make all of my clothes," she confided, gesturing down to her outfit.

She designed that Blazer!? And hand made all of them!? That was majorly impressive. Some of the interns at his father's work could not even do something as elaborate as that.

He was just about to express his astoundment before someone else cut him off again.

Seriously, was there an axe or guillotine in the room? He wouldn't put it past Chloe's super-rich and super protective father to have some sort of sword-wielding guard in the rafters for her safety.

"Nevermind about that," the perpetrator boomed in a loud voice, "I think we just found our lead roles!"

It was the director, looking a mixture of relieved and intrigued by the casting decision that he had just made.

What? Did he just say that I got a lead!?

All eyes turned to look at him.

Had he said that out loud?

"Yes," Marinette whispered to him.

Ahh...

"Me in a lead role? My father just wanted me to get a featuring role. An Akuma I suspect," he started, confused.

"How funny, he was requested for the role of Hawkmoth and he accepted."

His father was acting?! This was new… he wondered what prompted it.

Adrien decided not to comment on his fathers new choice of recreational activity.

"I got a lead role?!" piped Marinette.

"You two were amazing together! You have the best chemistry that I have seen in any young actors!"

Adrien felt himself turn pink at those words. A chemical reaction he would say.

Wow, even that sounded lame in his head.

"Each of you brought unique features to the role. I love the puns, nice touch," the man said with a wink.

At long last! Someone with the appropriate appreciation for the amazing art of articulate puns!

"The question is," started the man, scratching his beard, "do you want the role?"

"Yes," responded Adrien firmly. He wanted the freedom that came with acting, no tight schedule. Just him being himself within a role that embodied who he wanted to be.

Acting often came easy to him, allowing him to escape in fully imagine himself in the role and feel intense emotions for characters in books and movies. It was also the reason that his father walked in on him last week and found him sobbing into the pages of the Half-blood Prince wailing rather loudly about an old wise guy that Harry 'just wanted to live and learn from!'.

Unfortunately, for father at least, the ink had stained his face for the next photo shoot that evening. Even more devastatingly, his Harry Potter books were also confiscated.

How did that tangent happen?

Anyway…

He looked back at his lady, seeming conflicted and miserable.

He was so sure that she would accept the role willingly. He had never heard of a character like Ladybug being under-confident. Character in both sense of the word.

She really didn't sound so sure about the role.

"I don't know," she mumbled remorsefully, fiddling with the sleeve of her blazer. "I am not the most outgoing person, I'm nothing like any of the other actors."

Adrien looked at her forlorn expression with pity. Seeming to drown in her pink and black outfit, she looked sort of like a wilting flower. Beautiful, delicate, saddened. Small. She didn't think that she could be outgoing? That was the complete opposite of what he had just witnessed, she had literally rendered him speechless!

The room heated up when her gaze crashed into his, he could see unsheathed tears swimming and darting in her eyes. He had to do something.

Gently, he placed a warm hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn her gaze from her shoes to him.

"You don't have to be like others to be extraordinary. To stand out you have to have something special. Be different and be confident in whatever you do. If you get chosen, you must be worth it."

Looking back at him, she smiled shyly, silently thanking him and nodded slowly, before looking back at the director.

"Ok, I'll take the role," she said, voice quivering slightly.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was withholding. What was he afraid of? Maybe he didn't want someone like his bossy and snarky childhood best friend Chole being cast as Ladybug. That must be it. He just didn't want Chloe. There was only so much obnoxious yellow he could handle in one day.

"Excellent!" cried the director, rubbing his hands. "Now that we have our leads we can focus on the other parts."

He went back to his desk which was now flooded with paperwork. Shuffling could be heard as the bear-like man flipped through the pages with domino speed.

The silence was upon both actors, uncomfortable and constricting.

As well as the now present panting and the loud echoing of feet in the hall.

A hurricane of a girl burst through the doors who Adrien instantly recognised as Marinette's best friend. Auburn hair flapping in non-existent wind splayed all over her face as she doubled down on her hands and knees, doors closing behind her with a thud.

"Marinette! I only just escaped from Auditions! Raced up here's fast as I could, the staff here are really persistent when it comes to storming other people's auditions, no idea why though. They probably thought I was some sort of Agreste groupie or something." She panted out, eyes flickering to look at him from her place at the door.

Realising what she had just said she quickly added, "No offence."

"None taken."

"Ms?" He asked.

It was the confused Mayor standing up and trying to diffuse the situation.

"Alya Cesaire."

"Ms Cesaire, this is highly inappropriate-"

"Yeah, yeah I know," she rambled in a casual tone, brushing off what the Mayor had just said before turning back to Marinette.

The mayor made a noise of protest at being cut off.

"So! How did you do?" she demanded.

After hearing no response, she stalked up to Marinette and repeated the question again, albeit more indignantly.

"I'm sorry Ms Cesaire, we are in the middle of assigning these two amazing actors the lead roles in the show, " the director interrupted, gesturing to Marinette and Adrien.

If he attempted to shut this Alya girl up, he was fighting a lost cause. Adrien knew that he had seen her somewhere before today and now he knew where.

"Ahh! Mari, I'm so proud of you! I knew you could do it! Hate to say I told you so but I did so I told you so girl! I wonder if-"

"Hey, aren't you that reporter girl, the one with the news about all those famous movies?" Adrien cocked an eyebrow and stared, waiting for his answer.

Alya perked up at the name of her beloved blog. She smirked proudly.

"That's me! 5.2 million followers to date!"

He caught the writer, Grace Klinten, whispering in the background to the director.

"Do you follow my blog?! 'Cause, y'know, I've been wanting to interview you for a while as well. All that work you did as the actor in-"

Ms Klinten stood up.

"May I have a private word Ms Cesaire?" she asked evenly.

"Congrats to the both of you! I'm sure you'll be a great pair!" she winked.

Sending a last look at Marinette, Alya nodded resigned and trudged out.

Adrien felt his face heat up for the umpteenth time today.

"So your friends with reporter girl then?"

"Yeah, she's not very subtle is she."

"That she is not."

The papers were finished just as fast as the attempted conversation.

All too soon it was time to go. The director decided to escort them both back to the lobby.

"Lucky you two were the last ones, you have no idea how much stress this has caused," the director emphasised "I was stressing about needing the leads all week. I swear it turned my hair grey!"

"What an unfortunate problem. De-grey-ding on your mental health I'm sure."

The words rolled off of Adrien's tongue faster than he could suppress.

Marinette tried to stifle giggles, with limited success.

The director turned to Adrien and let out a bark of surprised laughter.

"I guess the puns are not only out of the role then!"

"They are there whenever they are needed."

The bland, winding corridors were tortuous and repetitive enough to make Adrien discombobulated when they stopped walking.

"Alright! We have much to discuss and so little time. I need to go and sort out the Akumas and sub-characters. I'll send you an email with a time that we can meet to talk about this and one to your guardian or agent. I'll need-" he paused for a moment, scratching his beard, "- a number, but I do believe you have already given me that in your application. I can sort out the practice times, scripts, stunt doubles or if you prefer, stunting instructors-"

"A Stunting instructor?"

Marinette looked confused.

"People who would teach you some of the stunts that you have to do. Adrien has prior skill in this so I doubt he needs a stunt double if he thinks he can pull off the stunts by himself," the director answered looking expectantly at Adrien.

He would get to attempt his own stunts? That would be so cool! Father would never allow him to do Parkour with his knowledge. But this was for his 'work'. He could persuade his father. His father might even like the idea.

"Can I have a Stunt instructor?" Adrien asked.

"Me too," piped Marinette.

Ignoring the stunned looks she continued, "I was super into Gymnastics for most of my childhood, still am. I may be really super clumsy on the ground but when I'm on a stage it's just… Different."

"Okay, we can try that to start." He responded perplexed, "If you are having trouble we'll organise something else."

Opening the doors that Adrien only just noticed, The director ushered them into the empty lobby.

"Thank you so much for giving up your time to Audition and accepting the lead parts, I know you won't regret it."

He whirled around and trotted off down the hallway, before rushing back to his prized actors with a sheepish grin.

"I completely forgot! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Thomas Astruc, director of this TV series."

Shaking the hands of both Marinette and Adrien, he smiled broadly, chuckling at their stunned expressions.

He went to leave again before pausing, looking at the pair.

"I look forward to working with you soon, Ladybug and Chat Noir."

The sentence hung in the air with all of the sensibility and ominous appearance of a businessman.

In a neon orange suit.

This was going to be fun. And highly confusing.

Adrien sighed, the traits of a genuine smile peeking through his features.

He couldn't wait to become Chat Noir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Review! I love hearing encouragement and constructive criticism.


End file.
